


Interlude V

by islndgurl777



Series: Star Wars OT Soulmarks [3]
Category: Star Wars Original Trilogy
Genre: Between Episodes IV and V, Gen, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, so it's pre leia/han
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-21
Updated: 2017-03-21
Packaged: 2018-10-08 22:30:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,364
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10397619
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/islndgurl777/pseuds/islndgurl777
Summary: Their relationships grow at different paces.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Real talk, gentle readers? This one was ready at the end of last April. I have no idea why it took me 11 months to post it. I've also got 3 more ready to go in this series, I'm working on another one, and I have the rest of the OT and PT fics tentatively planned out. No guarantees about those, but I've got some Ideas that I really want to write for them, so who knows.
> 
> Thanks to Kaitlyn for being my beta!
> 
> This one takes place after "I'm not in it for you, Princess," between ANH and ESB. It's just a quick little check-in about all of their relationship development. Leia and Luke have platonic marks, as do Luke and Han. Han and Leia's soulmarks are romantic, and of course those two are Not Dealing With It.

Their relationships grow at different paces. Both Han and Leia find it easier to bond with Luke than with each other, so he becomes the center point of their relationship. They are never alone together, and they are both responsible for keeping it that way. Luke knows the amount of effort they put into not being alone together, but he never asks them why. It’s something that they both come to love about him: he’s compassionate and not pushy.

///

Luke and Han bond quickly over flying, and Chewie frequently finds himself ousted from his copilot’s seat in favor of Luke when they get assigned missions together. It doesn’t bother him; Chewie knows the pull of a soulmate and the need to bond with them. When not out flying, Luke and Han can usually be found tinkering together with one or the other’s ship, making improvements or fixing their past “improvements”.

Within a year, they can have whole conversations across the base from each other, just by sending waves of feelings through their bond. Han asks Chewie once if this is normal, to which Chewie responds with an emphatic negative, and it makes Han wonder. Is the strength of their bond due to their close relationship, or does it have something to do with the Force?

///

Leia is almost always in her office on base, unless she’s in the war room discussing strategy with the other Rebel leaders. She and Luke mostly bond during meals (which he usually has to bring her) and in the mornings (when Han is sleeping in). They’ve discovered their mutual love of sunrises, and can usually be found on a rooftop in the hour surrounding dawn. Luke frequently marvels at the differences between a binary sunrise and a single one.

Their wordless conversations develop even more quickly than Luke and Han’s, and can travel further. Six months after they meet, Luke and Leia can communicate almost in whole words from halfway around a planet. Luke puzzles over the difference in their relationships for a long time, wondering why one is stronger than the other. Leia shrugs it off with a feeling of smug superiority over Han, and Han scowls, bitterness rolling through him. It takes longer than Luke would like to admit to realize there’s also jealousy mixed in on Han’s part over the effortlessness of Luke and Leia’s bond.

///

Inevitably, Han and Leia end up having to spend time together without Luke, though they are careful to never be completely alone together. They keep things professional, only talking about their missions. It’s a good system and it works for them, until it doesn’t.

///

“What happened?” she yells at him from across the hangar.

He sighs heavily as he makes his way out of the Falcon. Chewie tells him he should be honest with her, but Han shrugs it off, knowing it will make things worse. “What do you mean, your princessness?”

“You disappeared for a week and your communications were down! Why didn’t you follow the protocols? Were you compromised?  _ What happened _ ?” He’s standing at the bottom of the gangplank and she stalks up to him, a severe finger aimed at his face.

He lifts an insolent arm and leans against the rail, looking down at her with a smile. “Nothing happened, princess. Chewie and I just decided to take a detour on the way back.”

Her nostrils flare and she crosses her arms over her chest. His heart jumps and he has to remind himself not to look lower than her eyes. “You just  _ decided _ to take a  _ detour _ while you were on a  _ reconnaissance mission _ to Coruscant,” she says acidly, looking at Chewie for confirmation.

Chewie keeps eye contact with her and nods, but he tells Han again that he should be honest with her about why they were late.

Leia’s gaze swings back to Han, and he panics for a second, thinking she’d understood Chewie. “And what did you do on this little  _ detour _ ?”

He lets out a slow breath as his heart rate returns to normal. “You know,” he says casually. “The usual.”

Her eyebrows raise and she tightens her grip on her arms. “No, I don’t know,” she says slowly. “Enlighten me.”

His fingers twitch and his smile falters for a moment. He feels that she doubts his story, but he needs her to believe it, so he tries his best to shield himself from her, gives her a smouldering look, and says, “I don’t think you’re ready for that, sweetheart.”

He feels a momentary flash of hurt before her own shields rise. She lets out a shuddering breath, a blush spreading slowly across her cheeks, eyes glittering. They stare each other down, both trying their hardest to keep their warring emotions to themselves. Finally she nods, turns on her heel, and strides away, ignoring the looks from others in the hangar.

Chewie lets out a huff and a low moan. Han glares at him and says, “Shut up. I know what I’m doing.”

///

Luke finds him an hour later, slumped over the desk in his quarters. He’s got a nearly-empty glass in his right hand and a half-full bottle in his left. “Why’d you let her think it was a voluntary detour?” he asks, snagging the bottle away.

Han whines piteously and tries to make a grab for the bottle. “Give it back,” he groans out.

Luke rolls his eyes and places the bottle on the desk, just out of reach. “Tell me what happened.”

Han sighs heavily. “Jabba’s increased the bounty on my head.”

Luke nods. “I figured. You’re never that anxious unless it’s about your smuggling.”

“A hunter caught sight of the Falcon as we left Coruscant and followed us.” He zones out for a long moment until Luke nudges his leg with his toe. Then he shakes his head and breathes deeply. “We led her on a chase to the Outer Rim, finally lost her a few days ago. We came back as soon as we could, but I couldn’t risk contacting the Alliance in case she traced the signals.” He buries his head in his arms and lets out a long groan.

Luke smiles and squeezes his arm gently. “Why didn’t you just tell her that?”

“You know what she’s like,” comes his muffled answer. “She’d hold it over me forever and never let me out on another mission again.”

“Maybe that’s how it should be. Every time you go out you risk yourself and all of us.” He thinks of Leia and pushes his fondness for her toward Han.

Han groans and pushes back a feeling of overwhelming irritation. “What am I supposed to do if I’m not out on missions?”

Luke contemplates their options, easily dismissing the ones which involve leaving the Falcon to rust in a hangar on Hoth. He sighs. “I suppose we could go to Jabba ourselves, give him the money, hope he decides to be merciful.”

Han snorts. “Merciful. Clearly you’ve never met a Hutt.”

“I did grow up on Tatooine, you know. My Uncle--” he stops as pain lances through both of them. “People talk. I hear Hutts are awfully fond of money. It will just be about finding the right price.”

“No way I have enough to get him off my back,” he shakes his head.

“How much do you have? I haven’t spent much of my money, maybe that would be enough--”

“No!” Han interrupts him, face hard. “I’m not going to take your money, kid!”

Luke rolls his eyes. “It’s not taking if I’m offering to give it to you!” He holds up his hands when Han opens his mouth to argue. “Look, I’m not doing anything with the money, and it’s worth it to me if it keeps you safe.”

Han leans back in his chair and crosses his arms over his chest, but Luke knows he knows this is their best chance at getting Jabba off their backs. He decides to push it. “You know, we’d definitely have enough if we asked--”

“No.” His jaw clenches. “We keep Leia out of it. She doesn’t need to know.”

Luke sighs but drops it. They’ll figure themselves out eventually.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading!
> 
> Kudos and comments = Love!


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